I hear. singing! october 19, :00am and 11:30 am. Old Cabell Hall

Transcription

1 I hear singing! in ng! october 19, :00am and 11:30 am Old Cabell Hall Benjamin Rous, Music Director B John Mason, Narrator B Pamela Beasley, Soprano

2 CHARLOTTESVILLE SYMPHONY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Benjamin Rous, Music Director B Youth Concerts B October 19, :00am and 11:30am Old Cabell Hall John Mason, Narrator Pamela Beasley, Soprano Program Excerpts from the following works: Leonard Bernstein Overture to Candide Traditional, arranged by Jack Bullock Shenandoah Aaron Copland Old American Songs I Bought Me a Cat Ching-a-Ring Chaw Simple Gifts Aaron Copland Variations on a Shaker Tune (Simple Gifts) William Grant Still Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major, Afro-American III. Animato Aaron Copland Lincoln Portrait John Philip Sousa The Stars and Stripes Forever Thank you to our Sponsors! The Mr. and Mrs. James L. Brown Fund Charlottesville Symphony Society University of Virginia McIntire Department of Music The Watterson Foundation

3 B I Hear America Singing! B The Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia welcomes its new Music Director, Benjamin Rous, narrator John Mason and soprano Pamela Beasley for a rousing concert featuring traditional American songs: I Bought Me a Cat, Shenandoah, Simple Gifts, and Ching-a-Ring Chaw. Meet the families of the orchestra and explore the historical context of several American Masterworks as you listen to John Philip Sousa s The Stars and Stripes Forever, William Grant Still s Afro-American Symphony, Leonard Bernstein s Overture to Candide and Aaron Copland s Lincoln Portrait. August, 2017 Dear Students, My name is Elizabeth Roberts and I play a special role with the Charlottesville Symphony. Not only do I serve as the principal, or first chair bassoonist, I am also the orchestra s Director of Youth Education. I want to tell you how excited the entire orchestra is that each of you will join us at our Youth Concerts on October 19th. It is a very special opportunity to hear an orchestra perform live. When you walk into our concert hall, take a minute to really notice what the room looks like, and take note of the colorful outfits we are wearing. Going into a concert hall to hear an orchestra should feel special, like when you walk into a room where very important things happen such as a library! The music that the orchestra performs on this concert will give you a good introduction to some famous American composers. During the performance, try to sit quietly and truly listen to us. Each instrument produces a different kind of sound. Some blend easily while others might stick out. Instead of a flute and a clarinet, you might hear a flut-inet! Or even vio-horn-pani that s a mixture of violins, horns and timpani playing at the same time! Does one instrument draw your attention more than another? Look at the shapes of the instruments, and listen to the many colors of sound and the different moods you feel when you hear the music. You might find some of the music to be just okay or so-so to listen to, but then you might find other pieces really just fill you with energy. Try to remember what you enjoy as you listen and be sure to share this with your friends and family when you get home. Have a great time at the concert! -Elizabeth B Program Notes B By Elizabeth Roberts OVERTURE TO CANDIDE LEONARD BERNSTEIN ( ) American composer Leonard Bernstein was born in Massachusetts to a Jewish family from the Ukraine. He attended Harvard University and the Curtis Institute of Music. Bernstein was a great conductor in addition to being a great composer. Once, when he was conducting a rehearsal with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, his dentures slipped so he reached up, took them out of his mouth and held them in his hand as he gave directions to the orchestra about how wanted the music to be played. And then he put them right back in, raised his baton and conducted the passage of music. The orchestra members had a hard time playing, they were laughing so hard! Bernstein created a series of concerts called Young People s Concerts, designed to make classical music understandable by kids. His comic operetta Candide is based on Voltaire s novel of the same title, written in It tells the story of young Candide as he travels through the world. Let the music help you decide what type of adventures he had as he traveled! 2 SHENANDOAH TRADITIONAL, ARRANGED BY JACK BULLOCK Shenandoah is a folksong that originated in the early 1800s among fur trappers who traveled the Missouri River in canoes. We will perform a version of the song without words, but there are many different lyrics set to this beautiful melody. One of the most famous tells the story of a fur trader who fell in love with the daughter of a Native American chief, Shenandoah, of the Oneida Iroquois tribe. Shenandoah is a strophic song, meaning each verse or refrain has the same melody. Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you. Away, you rolling river. Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you. Away, I m bound away Cross the wide Missouri. Oh, Shenandoah, I love your daughter. Away, you rolling river. For her I d cross your roaming waters. Away, I m bound away, Cross the wide Missouri. Tis seven years since last I ve seen you. Away, you rolling river. Tis seven years since last I ve seen you. Away, we re bound away, Cross the wide Missouri. Oh, Sheanandoah, I long to hear you. Away, you rolling river. Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you. Away, we re bound away, Cross the wide Missouri. Oh, Shendandoah, I long to hear you. Far away, you rolling river. Oh Shenandoah, just to be near you. Far away, far away, Cross the wide Missouri. OLD AMERICAN SONGS AARON COPLAND ( ) Aaron Copland was born in 1900 in Brooklyn, NY, the youngest of five children. His parents were immigrants from Lithuania, and they owned a department store. The entire Copland family lived in a small apartment three floors above the store. Copland s older sister, Laurine, was his first piano teacher. He progressed so quickly that after just six months of study she told him, You know more now than I learned in eight years of study. Copland continued to study piano on his own and then begged his parents to hire a professional piano teacher. The teacher, Leopold Wolfsohn, encouraged Copland to begin composing. He wrote his first song when he was eight and a half years old. Copland left the United States for Paris in his early twenties. There he studied with Nadia Boulanger, one of the most famous pianists of the time. Soon his musical career took off. He composed works in a variety of styles or languages some for orchestra, some for piano, some to accompany ballets or films. Copland wrote his most famous music in the 1930s and 40s. People like it because it is popular in style, evoking images and characters we can relate to. Copland set two collections of American folksongs to music, Old American Songs, Sets I and II. Both were originally written for voice and piano, but Copland later rewrote the piano part for a full orchestra. Simple Gifts and I Bought Me a Cat are from the first set, and Ching-a-Ring Chaw is from the second. I Bought Me a Cat is a children s nonsense song which has a repeated refrain, but adds a farm animal with each repetition. The orchestral accompaniment simulates barnyard sounds. I Bought Me a Cat is also strophic, but it expands as each verse gets longer. 3

4 I bought me a cat, my cat pleased me. I fed my cat under yonder tree. I bought me a duck, my duck pleased me. I fed my duck under yonder tree. I bought me a goose, my goose pleased me. I fed my goose under yonder tree. I bought me a hen, my hen pleased me. I fed my hen under yonder tree. My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack. I bought me a pig, my pig pleased me. I fed my pig under yonder tree. My pig says, Griffey, Griffey. My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack. I bought me a cow, my cow pleased me. I fed my cow under yonder tree. My cow says, Moo, moo. My pig says, Griffey, Griffey. My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack. My cat says, Fiddle eye fee. I bought me a horse, my horse pleased me. I fed my horse under yonder tree. My horse says, Neigh, neigh. My cow says, Moo, moo. My pig says, Griffey, Griffey. My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack. I bought me a wife, my wife pleased me. I fed my wife under yonder tree. My wife says, Honey, honey. My horse says, Neigh, neigh. My cow says, Moo, moo. My pig says, Griffey, Griffey. My hen says, Shimmy shack, shimmy shack. The lyrics of Ching-a-Ring Chaw imitate the sound of the banjo. The song has African-American roots and uses Biblical code words. Crossing over to the Land of Milk and Honey symbolizes Heaven and the coach with four white horses symbolizes being taken to a place of safety. Ching-a-Ring Chaw is also strophic. Ching-a-ring-a-ring ching ching. Ho a ding-a-ding kum larkee. Ching-a-ring-a-ring ching ching, Ho a ding kum larkee. Brothers gather round. Listen to this story Bout the promised land An the promised glory. You don t need to fear If you have no money. You don t need none there To buy you milk and honey. There you ll ride in style Coach with four white horses. There the evenin meal Has one two three four courses. Nights we all will dance To the harp and fiddle. Waltz and jig and prance, And cast off down the middle! When the mornin come All in grand and splendour, Stand out in the sun And hear the holy thunder! Brothers hear me out. The promised land s a-comin. Dance and sing and shout, I hear them harps a strummin. Ching-a-ring-a ching ching ching, ching-a-ring ching Ching-a-ring-a ching ching, Ching a ching a ching ching ching-a-ring-a, ching-a-ring-a, ching-a-ring-a, ring, ching ching ching CHAW! VARIATIONS ON A SHAKER TUNE (SIMPLE GIFTS) AARON COPLAND Simple Gifts is a dancing song that was written by Joseph Bracket, Jr. in He was an elder in the Shaker faith, and he composed the song while at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine. The references to turning in the last two lines have a religious reference, but are generally considered dance instructions, for when the traditional dance is performed correctly, each dancer ends up where he or she began. Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free. Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be. And when we find ourselves in the place just right, It will be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained, To bow and to bend we shan t be ashamed. To turn, turn will be our delight, Til by turning, turning we come round right. Aaron Copland helped make the melody popular when he used it in his ballet, Appalachian Spring, in Similarly, Sidney Carter further popularized the melody when he composed new lyrics, creating the song, Lord of the Dance, in SYMPHONY NO. I IN A-FLAT MAJOR, AFRO-AMERICAN, III. ANIMATO WILLIAM GRANT STILL ( ) William Grant Still was born in Mississippi. His father died when he was very young, so his mother moved him to Arkansas. She was a teacher. His stepfather encouraged his musical studies, taking him to performances and buying recordings for him. He learned to play the violin, and taught himself to play several woodwind and string instruments. His mother wanted him to be a doctor, but he excelled in musical studies in college, receiving awards and scholarships that supported his training as a performer, conductor and composer. After college, he joined the U.S. Navy, then worked as an arranger. In 1936, he became the first African American to conduct a major American orchestra when he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in performance. He was also the first African American to have his own symphony performed by a major American orchestra and his own opera performed by a major American opera company, as well as the first to have an opera performed on national television. In the 1920s and 30s, African Americans had a cultural awakening in music, art and literature. Still s Symphony No. 1, Afro-American, was written during that period. Still titled the third movement of the symphony Humor. There are two main contrasting themes: one represents Hallelujah, the other sounds similar to the Gershwin tune, I ve Got Rhythm. The movement is based on a poem, called An Ante- Bellum Sermon, by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The subject of the poem is emancipation and citizenship of blacks in America. Still quotes two lines of Dunbar s poem in the score next to the third movement of his symphony, An we ll shout ouag halleluyahs On dat mighty reck nin day. 4 5

5 LINCOLN PORTRAIT AARON COPLAND The narration for Copland s Lincoln Portrait is a compilation of information about Abraham Lincoln s life and excerpts from some of his speeches and letters, including The Gettysburg Address, the Lincoln- Douglas debates, and Lincoln s Annual Message to Congress. Copland also quoted the melodies of folksongs such as Camptown Races and Springfield Mountain. Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. (Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862) The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country. (Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862) It is the eternal struggle between two principles, right and wrong, throughout the world. It is the same spirit that says you toil and work and earn bread, and I ll eat it. No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation, and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle. (Lincoln-Douglas Debates, October 15, 1858) As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy. (Unknown, though in Lincoln s Collected Works) That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth. (Gettysburg Address) Other nations may deem their flags the best And cheer them with fervid elation But the flag of the North and South and West Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom s nation. (repeat) Hurrah for the flag of the free! May it wave as our standard forever, The gem of the land and the sea, The banner of the right. Let despots remember the day When our fathers with mighty endeavor Proclaimed as they marched to the fray That by their might and by their right It waves forever. B Definitions B Let eagle shriek from lofty peak The never-ending watchword of our land; Let summer breeze waft through the trees The echo of the chorus grand. Sing out for liberty and light, Sing out for freedom and the right. Sing out for Union and its might, O patriotic sons. Hurrah for the flag of the free. May it wave as our standard forever The gem of the land and the sea, The banner of the right. Let despots remember the day When our fathers with mighty endeavor Proclaimed as they marched to the fray, That by their might and by their right It waves forever. BASS LINE Bass line is the low-pitched foundation on which other music is often composed. COLOR Color relates to the way sound changes when different instruments are used in combination with each other. COMPOSER A person who writes music THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER JOHN PHILIP SOUSA ( ) Sousa was born in Washington, DC. He began studying the violin and composition at age six. He had perfect pitch, meaning that when he heard a pitch played, he could name the pitch correctly. His father was a trombone player in the U.S. Marine Band. When Sousa turned 13, his father enlisted him in the US Marine Corps as an apprentice, and he learned to play all the wind instruments in seven years. When he was thirty-six years old, Sousa returned to the Marine Band as its conductor. When he left the Marine Band post in 1892, he started his own band that toured all over the United States and Europe. Sousa liked live performance so well that for many years he refused to perform on the radio because he wanted to be able to interact with the audience. Finally three years before he died he did offer a radio broadcast with his band, and when he did, it was a huge success. The Stars and Stripes Forever is considered to be Sousa s most famous march, and an act of Congress in 1987 made it officially the National March of the United States of America. While the music is very widely recognized, not many people realize that Sousa wrote lyrics to the piece: Let martial note in triumph float And liberty extend its mighty hand. A flag appears mid thunderous cheers, The banner of the Western land. The emblem of the brave and true Its folds protect no tyrant crew; The red and white and starry blue Is freedom s shield and hope. ELEMENTS OF MUSIC - Music is organized by several elements. These elements are: rhythm, melody, bass line, harmony, color and expression. The elements are organized together to give each individual piece of music a shape or form. EXPRESSION Music is a language. Expression relates to the emotions that a composer and performers convey to the people who are listening to a piece of music. FOLKSONG Folksongs, or traditional songs, have been passed down from generation to generation so many times that no one remembers who wrote the original version. Sometimes there are variations in the lyrics since these songs, one region of the country sings slightly different words. FORM In each piece of music, all the different elements - like melody, harmony, rhythm and dynamics - are organized to give the piece of music what we call Form. Some forms are AABB. Some forms are ABA. Some are ABACA. And there are many other forms, too. If two sections of a piece get the same letter, then the music in those sections is the same. HARMONY Harmony is the beautiful part that fills in between the melody and the bass line, adding character and fullness to the sound. 6 7

6 MARCH - A march is a piece of music that can be marched to the pulse of the music is one-two, onetwo, one-two. MELODY - Melody is the main idea or theme, a tune that can stick in your head that you find yourself humming because it is so beautiful. NATIONALISM In music, but also found in other art forms like literature and painting, composers use certain elements in their works to create pride in their home country, either by basing their works on folk tales or by quoting folk songs. OPERA An opera is a collaborative work of art with the focus on singing. An opera tells a story, like a play that is sung. There are usually elaborate sets and costumes. There is an orchestra, often a chorus, and some very important singers, called soloists, who tell and act out the story. An operetta is a short opera and the plot is often comical. ORCHESTRA An orchestra is a group of musicians who play instruments from the string, woodwind, brass and percussion families. A pit orchestra accompanies an opera or a musical from a section of the auditorium that is lower than the stage. This lowered area is often called a pit. OVERTURE An Overture introduces the musical themes or melodies that will be heard in a larger work, such as an opera, ballet or musical. RHYTHM - Rhythm is the pattern of short and long pitches that are played over a recurring pulse or beat. STROPHIC A song is called strophic when each verse or refrain has the same melody. The opposite of strophic is through-composed. Through-composed songs use a different melody for each section of the lyrics. TEXTURE Like fabrics, music also has texture. Sometimes it is thin, with just a couple of instruments playing; sometimes it is thick or heavy, with lots of instruments playing. The texture can be bumpy, when musicians play separated notes called staccato, or it can be smooth, when musicians play long, connected notes called legato. THEME A theme is a melody or musical idea that unifies a piece of music. There are themes in literature, too. TIMBRE (pronounced TAM-bur) means tone color, or the sound quality that each instrument produces. Each instrument makes a different quality of sounds based on the materials it is made of, the way it is played and its size. B The Orchestra and its Instruments B A symphony orchestra is a group of people who play many different instruments and make music together. The instruments of the orchestra are divided into four groups called families : the strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Each family contains instruments that are similar in many ways, yet different in others much like any family. A band has only three of these families it does not have members of the string family. 8 The strings are the largest family in the orchestra. Over half of the players in the orchestra play one of the four stringed instruments: the violin, viola, cello, and the string bass. These four instruments look very much alike. Each of them is made of a specially shaped hollow wooden box that has four strings stretched tightly along its length. Each stringed instrument has a bow, a thin stick of flexible wood with horsehair attached at each end. To make the sound, a player draws the hair of the bow across the strings, causing the strings to vibrate. The violin is the smallest stringed instrument and has the highest voice of the family. The violins often play the melody, or tune, in orchestra music. The viola looks very much like the violin, but is slightly larger. It has a deeper, mellower sound. Both the violin and the viola are held under the chin. The cello, which has an even lower voice, is much larger than the violin and the viola so large that it cannot be held under the chin, but must rest on the floor between the player s knees. The string bass is the largest member of the string family, even taller than the person playing it. To play a bass, a person must stand or sit on a tall stool. The string bass rarely plays the melody, but it has an important role. Its deep voice is the harmony and foundation of the orchestra. In most orchestras the string family sits at the front of the stage, right in front of the conductor. One special member of the string family is the harp. The harp has forty-seven strings, which are plucked with the fingers. Most orchestras use a harp only for certain special pieces. Behind the strings on stage are the woodwinds. As you might guess from their name, all of these instruments are played with wind that is, by blowing into them. However, not all of them are made of wood. The one exception is the flute. A long time ago, flutes were made of wood. Today they are made of metal, but are still in the woodwind family. When a flute player blows across the opening of the flute, the air inside the flute vibrates, making a musical sound. The clarinet is made of dark-colored wood with metal keys. A clarinet has a mouthpiece with a tiny piece of cane, or hard grass like bamboo, called a reed attached to it. When a player blows through the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates, making the clarinet sound. The oboe looks very much like the clarinet. It is hard to tell the two apart unless you look closely at them and listen carefully. Their sounds are distinctive. The clarinet has a smooth tone while the oboe s tone is more piercing. The oboe has a double reed two pieces of cane that vibrate against each other to make the oboe s unique sound. The bassoon also has a double reed, but sounds much lower than the oboe. Just as with stringed instruments, the bigger the instrument, the lower the voice in the other families of the orchestra. The contrabassoon is the biggest and lowest woodwind instrument. When you unfold the bassoon it is eight feet long, and when you unfold a contrabassoon, it is sixteen feet long. In comparison, the piccolo is the smallest and highest-pitched woodwind. It looks like a baby flute. The brass family sits at the very back of the stage, but it is quite easy to recognize because all the instruments are made of bright shiny metal. Brass instruments are constructed of long metal tubes which are coiled around and around into shapes that are easy to handle. Each brass instrument has a different shape, size, and voice. 9

7 One important brass instrument, the horn, is sometimes considered part of the woodwind family because its tone blends beautifully with woodwind instruments as well as with other brass instruments. The French horn is made of 17 feet of coiled tubing and has a wide flaring bell. A French horn player can use his hand inserted into the bell to change the sound of the horn. Many people think the French horn has the most beautiful sound of any musical instrument in the orchestra. The trumpet is made from a much shorter piece of tubing and has a small bell. The trumpet has a clear and brilliant tone, and is also usually very loud, so the rest of the orchestra never drowns out its voice. It can be heard loud and clear! The trombone is bigger than the trumpet and has a lower voice. It has a slide, which is pulled in and out to control pitch. The tuba is very big and fat, and has an extremely low voice. While the tuba very rarely gets to play the melody, it plays the important bass notes of the music. The percussion family has many different instruments made of different shapes and materials. The instruments produce a variety of sounds. What all of the percussion instruments have in common is that a player must strike them to make a sound. The percussion family stands at the back of the stage where there is plenty of room for all the different percussion instruments and players. The most important percussion instruments are the timpani. These large drums are sometimes called kettledrums because they look like big copper kettles. The timpani player uses three to five timpani of different sizes. The small ones play higher pitches and the larger ones play lower pitches. Timpani are used in almost every orchestra piece. Many other percussion instruments are used only occasionally, depending on what kind of sounds the composer needs for the music. The bass drum is a very large drum about three feet in diameter. It makes a deep, thundering sound. The snare drum is a much smaller drum which has metal wires called snares stretched across the bottom of it. When the drum is struck, the wires vibrate, making a rattling sound. The triangle is a metal rod bent into the shape of a triangle. It makes a bell-like sound. Cymbals are two large metal plates, which are crashed together. The cymbals are usually played loudly, so the sound can be startling. B Our Orchestra B The Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia is made up of more than 70 people including university professors, music teachers, local musicians and college students. Some of them are professional musicians, and many of them just play for fun. But all of them work equally hard! They rehearse together every Wednesday and add extra rehearsals during concert weeks. Each year the orchestra performs 13 concerts, plus special Youth Concerts like the one you will hear. The Role of the Conductor The conductor of a symphony orchestra has a very difficult and complicated job. He does much more than stand in front of the orchestra and wave his baton. The conductor must be an interpreter, a teacher, a leader. He must combine these three jobs to achieve his goal of turning a bunch of individual musicians into a symphony orchestra that makes beautiful music. 10 As an interpreter of a piece of music, the conductor works hard to understand the music as well as he can. He must study a piece of music for a long time before he ever conducts it. While each musician in the orchestra learns the part his or her instrument plays, the conductor must learn the parts for all the instruments and know how they fit together. There are many, many details of the music the conductor has to learn. Two of these are tempo (the speed of the music) and dynamics (loudness or softness). The conductor must think about how tempo and dynamics change throughout the piece. The conductor considers how the composer wanted the piece to sound, but he also may use some of his own ideas about what will sound good. Not every conductor will perform the same piece in exactly the same way. When the conductor has learned a piece of music, he must teach what he has learned to the orchestra. He explains the tempo, dynamics and other details. More importantly, he communicates to the musicians what kind of mood or character he wants the music to have. The conductor must be familiar with how to play every instrument so that he can help each musician achieve the sound he wants. When the orchestra practices, the conductor must listen to every note to make sure all the players are playing the correct pitches and staying together. He helps the orchestra work on difficult parts until they sound right. Finally, the conductor must be a leader on stage. During a performance, he uses his hands to communicate silently with the musicians in the orchestra. Usually a conductor will use his right hand, which holds the baton, to mark the beat of the music in the proper tempo. The musicians can watch him to make sure they are playing together. The conductor uses his left hand to communicate dynamics and more subtle variations in the music. Like the rest of the people on stage, the conductor is a musician. His instrument is the whole orchestra. He plays his instrument by guiding the musicians to communicate together what the music has to say. Our Conductor - Benjamin Rous Admired for his dynamism or energy on the podium, Benjamin Rous was recently named Music Director of the Charlottesville Symphony. He started his new position in September and joined the UVA music faculty at the same time. In 2010, Mr. Rous was hired as Associate Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and quickly became a favorite among audiences throughout southeastern Virginia. Promoted to Resident Conductor of the VSO in 2013, he took on an expanded role, leading the orchestra in a variety of concerts, including Classics, Regional Classics, Pops, and the multimedia VSO@Roper series. Each summer, Mr. Rous pursues his love of education, serving as faculty conductor of Greenwood Music Camp in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Mr. Rous has conducted many orchestras, including the National Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Long Beach Symphony and the Charleston Symphony. He is also an excellent instrumentalist, performing regularly on violin, viola and keyboard instruments. Benjamin Rous studied music at Harvard University with an emphasis on composition, and his works have been performed by diverse ensembles including the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, the Greenwood Orchestra and the Fromm Players. Mr. Rous is from the very small town of Durham, New Hampshire, which still feels like home to him. Since most orchestras need just one or two main conductors, Mr. Rous often has to move to a new city when he gets hired as the music director. Before he settled into his more recent positions, Mr. Rous lived in 13 different apartments in just 15 years! Mr. Rous wife, Clara, is a cellist. They have a two year-old son, Kai, who is an expert pinecone thrower! Their family pet is a sweet cat named Jack. In his spare time, Mr. Rous enjoys sailing, playing chess, eating good food and spending time outdoors. 11

8 Our Narrator John Mason John Mason, an African history scholar, is also a musician and photographer. He was born in Munich, Germany, where his father was serving in the U.S. Army. After he moved back to the United States, Mr. Mason began playing the trumpet in elementary school. He switched to the French horn in junior high school because he thought the instrument looked and sounded cool! After graduating high school, he spent two years studying music performance at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He eventually dropped out of CCM and worked and worked for a few years as a cab driver, film technician, delivery driver and cook and then he went back to school, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Mr. Mason went to graduate school at Yale University to study South African History. He moved to South Africa for two years to pursue research for his dissertation and to teach at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Mr. Mason returned to the United States in 1990 to teach history at the University of Florida. He joined the faculty at UVA in 1995 to teach African History and the history of photography. Mr. Mason played French horn in the Charlottesville Symphony for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was also a member of the Charlottesville Municipal Band for fifteen years, played in the pit orchestra at the Heritage Theatre Festival for five years and freelanced in Central Virginia with orchestras like the Lynchburg Symphony. As kids grow up, Mr. Mason wants to remind them that they can pursue a career in one field of expertise, and they can also have a great time playing music as a hobby! Mr. Mason s favorite styles of music are classical and jazz. His other hobbies include drag racing, photography and cooking. Our Soloist Pamela Beasley Pamela Blevins Beasley, soprano, has sung leading and supporting operatic and musical theater roles in many places. She has performed in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and New York, with different musical groups including the Fort Worth Opera, Birmingham Civic Opera, Pensacola Opera, Mobile Opera, Southern Regional Opera, Maxwell Theater Troupe, Southwestern Opera Theater and University of Montevallo Lyric Theater. As a singer, she gets to play many characters. Here are some of the roles she has performed: Mimi in La Boheme Marian in The Music Man Zerlina in Don Giovanni Julie and Carrie in Carousel Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors Ms. Beasley was featured as a soprano soloist at Carnegie Hall in a sacred choral concert and as a recitalist in Rome, Italy! In the Charlottesville area, she has appeared as a soloist with the Virginia Consort, the Oratorio Society of Virginia, the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia and on the UVA Faculty Chamber Music Series. Ms. Beasley also enjoys teaching. She has been on the Music Faculty of the University of Virginia since She has also taught at James Madison University, Mary Baldwin College, Liberty University, the University of South Alabama, the University of Mobile and Operafestival di Roma in Rome, Italy. Ms. Beasley and her husband, Alba, have two grown children. When she was a child, Ms. Beasley LOVED the color purple, and even convinced her parents to decorate her room with a purple shag carpet! Once when performing in an outdoor venue, Pamela took a deep breath...and inhaled a bug. She swallowed it and kept singing! She is glad she will be singing INDOORS for our Youth Concerts. B Word Search B Y S S C F T B T R U M P E T T Y N S B R A S S M T I M P A N I O C D R K R S V M Y O W P R N T R Z D E A B E B F Q F X L V I O L A O I J A E I D T R O M B O N E E P W L O G Z H O O F R U N G C C U A V E G C Y M B A L S A V D N Q E B G H N U J H A R P T N O A K I D E W W Q P D V S I O S Y Z H W H U X J S P N C F V I U X R U A Z X S T R I N G B A S S Q X B E B N A O U C L A R I N E T G C A I L O D B A S S D R U M W D C B O V I J M C E L L O K R M S S S T L M A F R E N C H H O R N K R N L F L U T E U N T Can you find the names of the instruments and their families? Write them below. The first letter is written for you. Family S W B P Instrument V F F T V O T B C C T S S B T C 12 13

9 B Which is the Best Match B B During the Concert B Draw a line to connect the words that go together. Please sit quietly and listen to the performance. Tempo Conductor Woodwinds Cello Storyteller Leader Enjoy the music. Clap at the end of a piece of music if you enjoyed it. Concertmaster Baton Rehearsal Brass Practice Volume Timpani Speed Notice how the music makes you feel. Do you see colors in your mind when you hear the music? What images do you see when you listen to the music? Narrator Dynamics Strings Percussion Right Hand Trombone Oboe Violinist Does the music make you remember something from your life? Notice what parts of the music you like why do you like it? Notice what parts of the concert you don t like what do you not like about it? 14 15

10 B Continue to Explore the Orchestra with your B B Family and Friends: B Attend the Charlottesville Symphony s Musical Instrument Petting Zoo Meet the instruments in the orchestra one-on-one! FREE!! November 11, 2017, Time to be announced The Helms Theater, UVA Arts Grounds. Parking in Culbreth Road Garage Collaboration with Virginia Film Festival Family Day. For more information visit: Tell Your Family About the Youth Concert What was your favorite piece of music? What did you hear that you liked? What did you hear that you didn t like? How did each piece of music make you feel? What did you think about while you listened to the music? What instrument would you like to play? Attend the Charlottesville Symphony s Programs at the Virginia Discovery Museum Boo-Bash, Friday, October 28th, 2017, 6:00-7:30pm SpooOOooky Sounds instrument petting zoo Meet Me on Main Street Series - Meet the Symphony Musician Instrument demonstration, accompanied story and instrument petting zoo January 13, 2018 Ayn Balija, Viola Listen to Recordings Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals Read Books Eric Carle I See a Song (K-2) Steven Kellogg Ralph s Secret Weapon (K-2) Valerie Poole Obadiah Coffee and the Music Contest (K-2) Robert Levine The Story of the Orchestra (4-6) Illustrated by Peter Spier The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night (K-6) Watch DVDs Peter and the Wolf Fantasia Fantasia 2000 Attend Concerts Charlottesville Symphony: Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia: Charlottesville High School: UVA Chamber Music Series: music.virginia.edu/uvacms Visit Websites Ode to Joy and Scale played by Utah Symphony Members Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Time Travel through Music 16 Britten: Young Person s Guide to the Orchestra Leopold Mozart: A Children s Symphony Debussy: Children s Corner February 3, 2018 Shawn Earle, Clarinet 17

11 B B